Roberto Mancini has again been scathing in his criticism of Mario Balotelli
after Manchester City failed to win at home for the first time in the league
this season and it is understood the club are now prepared to listen to
offers for their controversial Italian striker.

Living on a prayer: Mario Balotelli's two-goal display was not enough to impress Roberto ManciniPhoto: ACTION IMAGES

City went 3-1 down to a spirited Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and while they managed to salvage a draw, could now find themselves five points behind Manchester United if Sir Alex Ferguson’s team beat Blackburn on Monday.

Balotelli scored twice but Mancini said he considered replacing him after five minutes and, having said he could not trust the player in the build-up to this game, the controversial striker’s future at City is now in doubt.

“He didn’t play well,” Mancini said. “In a game like this the striker should be the difference. Not in the last two or three minutes but before. In the first half we should have scored two or three. Mario and [Edin] Dzeko should have scored two or three goals in a game like this.”

Asked if he considered taking Balotelli off, Mancini said: “We had only Carlos [Tévez] on the bench. I thought about this after five minutes. In the end he scored two goals but...”

Mancini was also frustrated with the way Balotelli had bickered with Aleksandr Kolarov over who should take a free kick when his team were 3-1 down. Vincent Kompany, the captain, had to drag Balotelli away amid boos from City’s fans, who were as frustrated as Mancini. “It can happen in a moment like today,” Mancini said. “But this is the last time.”

While City are not actively pursuing a sale, club sources confirmed they would consider a serious offer for him. Balotelli has a cult status among fans for his eccentric behaviour but his performances on the pitch have become a source of increasing frustration in the stands. His agent, Rino Maiola, brokered the deal to sell Robinho to Milan and is apparently exploring what interest there might be in signing Balotelli from the big Italian clubs. His performance only added to Mancini’s frustration that injury deprived him of Sergio Agüero – the City manager said he was “100 per cent sure” they would have won if Agüero had been fit.

Mancini had been enigmatic in his pre-match briefing, saying Agüero had sustained a “stupid” injury. After the game he said it was “not true” that the player had slipped on a child’s toy and that the injury had in fact been caused by a reaction to a spray that had been applied to his foot. “If we had Agüero we’d have won today,” he said. “I am 100 per cent sure of it and for this reason I’m disappointed. I hope we can have him for the next game.” Mancini confirmed Agüero had reacted badly to a spray it and added that “it was not his fault”.